Cardinal Wuerl calls on the faithful gathered on Christmas Eve to renew their faith and share it with others this Christmas

“Just as those shepherds were told the Good News and then went off to tell the others about what they had seen and heard, so, too, must we.”

January 01, 2013

For Immediate Release: December 25, 2012

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, blessed the crèche and celebrated Mass on Christmas Eve at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. In his homily, he reminded those gathered that, “Christmas is a time to renew our faith that the small Child born in Bethlehem is truly God-with-us.” No matter what is happening in our lives, the Cardinal continued, “Christmas is a time to pause long enough to reflect, all over again, this year as in every past year, I am not alone, God is near to me tonight as that infant child in the manger. This great mystery of faith, our profession of the creed can be easily obscured by the immediacy of all that makes up our daily life and keeps our focus on this world.”

“As complex and confusing as life at times may seem, we are not left to the darkness, to gloom, to despair. Jesus is our light if we let him open our hearts, open our minds and open our eyes.” The Cardinal reminded the faithful that the “awe of Christmas is rooted in the realization that God is with us,” and in this Year of Faith, we are asked not only to accept and rejoice in it, but also called to share it with others.

Cardinal Wuerl will celebrate Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Christmas Day at 12:00 PM. After the Mass, he will stop in to visit the guests who are in attendance at the Shrine’s Christmas dinner. In an annual tradition, volunteers serve a free Christmas meal to those who are alone or are in need, and deliver additional meals to families throughout the region, serving more than 1,400 people each year.

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The Archdiocese of Washington is home to over 600,000 Catholics, 139 parishes and 97 Catholic schools, located in Washington, DC and five Maryland counties: Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s.

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